October 2015 - Monthly Update

October has been a mixed month for the Changing Places Consortium.

In sad news, we bid farewell to one of the founders of the Changing Places campaign, Loretto Lambe. Members of the Consortium attended Loretto’s funeral in Dundee last week. The service was a fitting tribute to Loretto's life and work. We heard from many family, friends and colleagues about the part she played in their lives. We would like to thank everyone at PAMIS for their hospitality during this time. Together, we will work hard to carry Loretto’s legacy on.

In happier news, October also saw us hold our first training session for new campaigners with Changing Places facebook co-ordinator Sarah Mitchell and our sponsors Aveso. It was a great pilot session and full of ideas about how we can support campaigners in the future.

Thanks to Alison Beevers for the inspirational "Changing Places Selfie Kit" and for the wonderful Retford Changing Places campaign bags. We hope to expand on this session through 2016 and offer training to all new Changing Places campaigners in the future.

This month also saw Changing Places get debated in a Westminster Hall debate. (Link to debate here: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2015-10-21a.399.0&p=25340 ) This gave the campaign some much needed recognition inside Parliament and across the country. MPs from across the UK recognised the need for Changing Places and paid tribute to the passion of our campaigners and the Consortiums work with the British Toilet Association currently being supported by the DCLG. We are also aware that an "Early Day Motion" to promote the need for Changing Places in motorway service stations is currently gaining support. (Link here: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2015-16/562 )Special thanks to Accessible Derbyshire and Toby Perkins MP for making the debate possible.

Next month will see the launch of the new Changing Places toilet map on World Toilet Day (19th November). We are working closely with the British Toilet Association and DCLG making final preparations. PAMIS are organising events across the week and we will be promoting the new map via many press and media outlets on the day.

We have registered 9 Changing Places this month including the transport hub Galashiels Interchange and The National Arboretum. We are working with many other providers including motorway service stations at this time so expect more registrations over the next few months.